Fundamental and practical aspects of liquid chromatography and capillary electromigration techniques employed for the analysis of phenolic compounds in plants and plant-derived food Part I - Liquid chromatography

Column-based liquid phase separation techniques, such as liquid chromatography (LC) in reversed phase separation mode (RPC) and capillary electromigration techniques, using continuous electrolyte systems, are widely employed for the identification and quantification of phenolic compounds in plants and food matrices of plant origin. These secondary metabolites hold various types of important functions in plant tissues and, as component of the human diet, play important roles in disease prevention and health-promoting effects. This paper is the first of a two-parts review article discussing fundamental and practical aspects of both LC and capillary electromigration techniques, employed for the analysis of phenolic compounds occurring in plant-derived food and in edible and medicinal plants. Also briefly discussed in Part I are chemical structure and distribution of the major phenolic compounds occurring in plant kingdom, as well as the main methods employed for their extraction and sample preparation.